An 11-year-old girl denied an abortion after allegedly being
raped by her stepfather has given birth to a healthy baby girl in Asunción,
Paraguay, where a fierce debate is brewing over a law banning most abortions.
Thursday's birth
was confirmed by Asunción Red Cross Director Mario Villalba.
In the mostly
Catholic country, 684 girls between the ages of 10 and 14 gave birth last year.
Most of the minors had been victims of sexual abuse, according to government
figures. A Paraguayan law bans abortions except in cases where the pregnancy
endangers the mother's life.
The baby was
born by cesarean and weighed 3 kilograms (about 6.6 pounds). Villalba said the
baby and her mother "are in good health condition." He also said
doctors are monitoring them closely. They are expected to be released within
three days if no complications arise.
The case shocked Paraguayans when it came to
light in May. At the time the girl was 10 years old and 22 weeks pregnant.
Authorities immediately arrested the girl's mother. The woman, who according to
reports is 32 years old, was charged with child neglect and complicity.
Police arrested
the girl's stepfather, identified as 42-year-old Gilberto Benitez Zárate. Benitez was charged with rape and
abuse of a child. He denied the charges and demanded a DNA test to back up his
claim.
The girl's
mother was released on bond in June, but still faces charges. Once out of jail,
she told CNN that she went to authorities asking
for help in November 2013.
"I was the one who reported all of this, asking for justice
to be done and hoping that something would be done, but prosecutors dismissed
the case," she said in an exclusive interview with CNN en Español on June
25. "Otherwise, this would have never gotten to this point," the
unidentified mother said.
Paraguayan
Health Minister Antonio Barrios told CNN earlier that neighbors were the ones
who had reported the abuse, and that the mother had denied accusations against
her husband.
The pregnancy
was discovered in late April when the mother took her daughter to the hospital
after the girl complained of abdominal pain.
The mother
wanted the girl to have an abortion. Human rights groups, especially Amnesty
International, supported her position.
"The physical and psychological impact of forcing this
young girl to continue with an unwanted pregnancy is tantamount to
torture," Guadalupe Marengo, deputy director for the Americas at Amnesty
International said then. "The Paraguayan authorities cannot sit idly by
while this young rape survivor is forced to endure more agony and
torment."
But Paraguayan
authorities refused. Health minister Antonio Barrios said that, even in this
case, an abortion would be a violation of Paraguayan law.
"We're
totally against interrupting the pregnancy," Barrios said in May.
"The girl is getting assistance permanently in a shelter and the pregnancy
is progressing normally without a problem." There was no comment from the
Paraguayan government Thursday regarding the birth.
Erika Guevara,
Amnesty's Americas director, said Thursday that the fact that the girl did not
die "does not excuse the human rights violations she suffered at the hands
of the Paraguayan authorities, who decided to gamble with her health, life and
integrity despite overwhelming evidence that this pregnancy was extremely risky
and despite the fact that she was a rape victim and a child."
Paraguay has one of the strictest abortion laws in the world. It
bans abortions except in cases where the pregnancy endangers the mother's life.
In the case of the 11-year-old, doctors ruled that, in spite of her age, the
pregnancy did not endanger her life. Violation of the law carries a maximum
sentence of five years in prison.
According to a 2013 United Nations report, 2 million girls under age 14 give
birth in developing countries every year, many of whom suffer resulting
long-term or fatal health problems. It estimated that 70,000 adolescents die
each year from complications from pregnancy or childbirth.
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